Salai Guggal Research Articles

Ethnopharmacological review of boswellia serrata for anticancer activity

Boswellic acid is an Ursane group compound belonging to triterpenoids. It is the major constituents of the gum derived from plant Roxb. It belongs to Family Burseraceae. It is also known as and commonly known as the Salai guggal, white guggal, Indian olibanum. is medium-sized tree widely distributed in the India and Africa. B. Serrata is highly medicinal as well as economically potential. Currently, it is has the potential use in various herbal and ayurvedic formulations for the treatment of various disorders which include inflammation and other types of disorders. Since ancient and centuries anti-cancer drugs discovered from herbal medicines have been used in clinical practice. The active constituent of such formulations being vincristine, vinblastine and the camptothecene derivatives, topotecan, irinotecan and etoposide. There is current need for herbal and ethnopharmacological therapeutics to develop the novel anti-cancer drugs which is safe with effective mechanism. The new discoveries of developing combined ingredients from effective traditional formula or single ingredient as per the traditional medicine theory should be focused. This new approach will promote the academic research and the industry development of traditional medicine. This ethnopharmacological review is mainly focused on anticancer activity of

An Overview on “Boswellia serrata”

“Boswellia serrata” is a herb used for ages in the Indian system of medicine and other systems of medicines across the world. It comes under the family “Burseraceae”. The Boswellia serrata is called by various local names in different regions, out of which “Kundur” “salai” “guggul” “Shallaki” are very prominently used. “Shallaki” is a widely used active ingredient in the “Unani” “Siddha” and “Ayurvedic” medicines oriented for the treatment of inflammation and pain. It is also used as a component to add fragrance to the products. Boswellia serrata plant contains oleo-gum resins and the ASU drug manufacturer mostly use this resin to prepare Boswellia-oriented drugs and this practice of using resin as the key component of drugs is very old and effective. In ancient ayurvedic texts, particular methods describe the extraction, purification, and usage of this oleo gum resin. Now in the modern era, when a lot of research has been done on this plant and its parts, this plant has come out to be even more important as it is found to be showing specific characteristics beneficial for treating illnesses such as dysentery, urinary tract disorders, hemorrhoids, ulcers, and dyspepsia. The present review provides an overview of some pharmacological activities and the importance of “Salaiguggal” or “ Boswellia serrata “. “Salai guggal” is rich in essential oils, and therefore, it becomes important for the perfume industries as its essential oils are soothing to smell and show therapeutic effects. The essential oils of Boswellia serrata are a mixture of different boswellic acids such as “mono-terpenes”, “di-tepenes” and “sesqui-terpenes”. Whereas the oleo gum resin of “ Boswellia serrata “ comprises monosaccharides such as pentose and hexose sugars. The oleo gum resin of this plant is highly recommended by almost every medical practitioner who deals in herbal medicines as it has shown a huge range of effective characteristics in asthma, cancer, microbial/fungal infections, inflammation, arthritis, diarrhea, and also as an analgesic. A proper systematic literature review was done using different databases that were available online like Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect.

Invitro and insilico studies on antibacterial potentials of phytochemical extracts

Devitalized cellular structure replacement, tissue remodeling is a complex process in wound healing. To search the new antibiotics for the rapidly emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria and other nosocomial infectious diseases since it is a bit challenging to the upcoming scientists. A bestowed and prestigious position in the field of herbal medicine was given to Boswellia serrata resin or Salai guggal. The resin powder of B. serrata was extracted consecutively with ethanol and aqueous by microwave-assisted extraction method, which was the novel, potential, cost-effective, natural medicament towards the sore curing on the wound bed. Ten samples were collected in sterile polypropylene bottles after swabbing from the skin and wound sores of patients of hospitals in and around the Namakkal district to examine the antibacterial activity in vitro. Phenotypic screening of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria is done via gram staining and biochemical test. In disk diffusion assay, the average zone of inhibition of gram -ve and gram + ve are 12–15 mm and 14–28 mm respectively. Bioactive compounds identified structurally and qualitatively by GCMS in the resin extract of B. serrata. In the case of antibacterial activity, different concentrations of the extract against nosocomial pathogens range from 20 µg to 60 µg were done in which Klebsiella Pneumoniae showed the lowest MIC (0.7) values against the ethanolic extract of B. serrata. In ligand–protein interaction, the target beta-lactamase protein binding with methyl diacetyl chenodesoxy cholate bioactive compound (C29H46O6) by docking software AutoDock 4 shows low binding affinity (-8kcal/mol) from K. pneumoniae with reference antibiotic tetracycline with a binding affinity (-7kcal/mol). This paper proves that the antibacterial activity of Boswellia serrata resins induces a rapid, infection-less, steady wound healing process for both excision and incision wounds.

Potential of NTFPs in Income and Employment Generation for Tribals of Polo Forest, Sabarkantha, Gujarat

The present survey is the most elaborate comprised study on Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) collection along with its economic contribution to the tribal economy of Polo forests. In the study, a total of 31 villages of Polo forests have been sampled to calculate a total collection of NTFPs. During the study, 10% households of the total households from each village were interviewed with the help of a predesigned questionnaire. The primary level survey revealed that NTFPs played a remarkable role in the tribals economy of Polo forests from the contribution of a total of 57 NTFPs which are being collected from 8 different parts of 48 plant species products and 2 animal products. These NTFPs have generated an income oft 12.74 million/annum of which maximum part comes from nonrecorded trades. The current estimation of income generation revealed that maximum economic contribution was found to be in Mahuwa (29%) followed by Timru (25%), Puvad (7%) and Salai Guggal (6%). The study also revealed that in Polo forests, Kathodi community is the most forestdependent community that collects almost all types of NTFPs available during the year. The current study concluded the role of NTFPs in the tribal economy and various factors affecting the collection and trade.

AN UPDATE ON PHARMACOLOGICAL PROFILE OF BOSWELLIA SERRATA

Boswellia serrata (Burseraceae) is the most ancient and respected herbs in Ayurveda. In Unani system of medicine, oleo-gum resin of Boswellia serrata named Kundur played a prime ingredient role in modern quality perfumes. The gum is used as a remedy for treatment of illness especially skin diseases and rheumatism in Indian system of medicine (Sidha, Ayurvedic and Unani) for last diverse centuries. Salai guggul is one of the accepted drugs for various complaints such as dyspepsia, dysentery, lung diseases, urinary disorder, haemorrhoids and corneal ulcer in Unani system of medicine for the last several decades.The present article is aimed to provide an overview on various pharmacological activities of Boswellia serrata. The resin fraction of salai guggal is rich in boswellic acids and its essential oils that are composed of a mixture of mono, di and sesquiterpenes while gum fraction chiefly contains pentose and hexose sugars. The oleo-gum resin is quite popular among the practitioners of traditional system and possesses wide range of useful biological properties such as antiasthmatic, anticancer, antifungal, anticomplementary, antihyperlipidemic, antiinflammatory, antiarthritic, antirheumatic, antidiarrheal, antimicrobial, antifungal and analgesic.An exhaustive review of literature was performed using various databases on science direct, scopus, pubmed, google scholar and free patents online.This review is a sincere attempt to discuss and present the current status of pharmacological profile of Boswellia serrata.

Microwave assisted in situ synthesis of gum Salai guggal based silver nanocomposites- investigation of anti-bacterial properties

This paper describes the fabrication of silver nanocomposites based on semi interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) and interpenetrating network (IPN) matrices and their antibacterial activity. The semi-IPN and IPN matrices were prepared under microwave radiation using polyacrylic acid and polyacrylamide chains to graft copolymerize the polysaccharide fraction of gum Salai guggal. After optimizing the reaction parameters with respect to maximum water absorption capacity, the synthesized semi-IPN and IPN were found to show 1350% and 483% swelling percentage, respectively. The semi-IPN and IPN matrices were converted into their respective silver nanocomposites through swelling- shrinking process via the immersion of super absorbents in AgNO3 aqueous solution and irradiation of samples with gamma rays. FTIR, SEM–EDS, HR-TEM, XRD and UV–Vis studies confirmed the formation of silver nanocomposites. The 3-D crosslinked polymeric structures of the matrix phase regulate the particle size between 8.19–28.83 and 1.27–4.14 nm for the silver nanoparticles derived through semi-IPN nanocomposite (Sg-cl-polyAAm-MW-Ag0) and IPN nanocomposite (Sg-cl-polyAAm-IPN-AA-MW-Ag0) matrix templates, respectively. The silver nanocomposites were evaluated for antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. It was found that all the samples have potential activity against these bacteria and thus can be used for biomedical applications like scaffolds to inhibit bacterial infections.

A facile strategy to synthesize a novel and green nanocomposite based on gum Salai guggal - Investigation of antimicrobial activity

In the present work synthesis of novel silver nanocomposite Sg-cl-polyAAm-IA-Ag0 based on gum Salai guggal semi interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) Sg-cl-polyAAm-IA and its antimicrobial behavior has been described. Semi interpenetrating network was prepared under hot air conditions using acrylamide and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide under the initiation impact of ammonium persulphate. Different process variables were optimized and maximum swelling percentage obtained was 667 ± 11%. The silver nanocomposite was in-situ synthesized through the reduction of silver nitrate using semi-IPN matrix under high energy gamma radiations. The nanocomposite prepared was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis/difference thermo gravimetry (TGA/DTA/DTG), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) technique. Nanocomposite was evaluated against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli for antibacterial activity. Silver nanocomposite possessed potential activity against different gram positive and gram negative bacteria and thus can be used as a precursor for biomedical applications.

Research progress of acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid on its anti-cancer activity

Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) is one of the triterpenes in the gum resin of the Boswellia serrata and Boswellia carterii,also known as Salai guggal or Indian frankincense.There has been growing interst in anti-tumor activity of AKBA.This review will summarize the latest advances of AKBA on anti-tumor activity for the better understanding of this compound and its further applications. Key words: Frankincense; Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid; Anti-cancer activity

Boswellic acid inhibits growth and metastasis of human colorectal cancer in orthotopic mouse model by downregulating inflammatory, proliferative, invasive and angiogenic biomarkers

Numerous cancer therapeutics were originally identified from natural products used in traditional medicine. One such agent is acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA), derived from the gum resin of the Boswellia serrata known as Salai guggal or Indian frankincense. Traditionally, it has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat proinflammatory conditions. In this report, we hypothesized that AKBA can affect the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) in orthotopically implanted tumors in nude mice. We found that the oral administration of AKBA (50-200 mg/kg) dose-dependently inhibited the growth of CRC tumors in mice, resulting in decrease in tumor volumes than those seen in vehicle-treated mice without significant decreases in body weight. In addition, we observed that AKBA was highly effective in suppressing ascites and distant metastasis to the liver, lungs and spleen in orthotopically implanted tumors in nude mice. When examined for the mechanism, we found that markers of tumor proliferation index Ki-67 and the microvessel density cluster of differentiation (CD31) were significantly downregulated by AKBA treatment. We also found that AKBA significantly suppressed nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation in the tumor tissue and expression of proinflammatory (cyclooxygenase-2), tumor survival (bcl-2, bcl-xL, inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP-1) and survivin), proliferative (cyclin D1), invasive (intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and matrix metalloproteinase-9) and angiogenic C-X-C (CXC) receptor 4 and vascular endothelial growth factor) biomarkers. When examined for serum and tissue levels of AKBA, a dose-dependent increase in the levels of the drug was detected, indicating its bioavailability. Thus, our findings suggest that this boswellic acid analog can inhibit the growth and metastasis of human CRC in vivo through downregulation of cancer-associated biomarkers.

Indischer Weihrauch (Salai guggal) bei rheumatoider Arthritis und Osteoarthritis

Die Anwendung von Extrakten aus dem indischen Weihrauch bei rheumatischen Erkrankungen ist derzeit in Deutschland weitverbreitet. In Tierversuchen wurde eine antiphlogistische/antirheumatische Wirkung dieses Extraktes beschrieben. Bisherige klinische Studien sprechen dafür, dass sich Extrakte aus dem Gummiharz von Boswellia serrata günstig bei rheumatoider Arthritis sowie bei Osteoarthritis auswirken. Allerdings sind die erhobenen Fallzahlen gering und eine Reihe von Studien leidet unter Mängeln. Da Extrakte aus dem indischen Weihrauch arm an Nebenwirkungen sind, sollten klinische Studien gemäß wissenschaftlichem Standard durchgeführt werden, um Sicherheit, Wirksamkeit und Verträglichkeit zu beweisen.

Safety and Toxicological Evaluation of a Novel, Standardized 3-O-Acetyl-11-keto-β-Boswellic Acid (AKBA)-Enriched Boswellia serrata Extract (5-Loxin®)

The novel anti-inflammatory properties of the gum resin derived from Boswellia serrata, also known as Salai guggal in Ayurvedic medicine, are well recognized and highly recommended for human consumption. The active constituents of the gum resin are boswellic acids (BAs). Among the BAs, AKBA potently inhibits 5-lipoxygenase product formation with an IC50 of 1.5 m μM. We developed a novel Boswellia serrata extract (5-Loxin®) enriched with 30% AKBA (US Patent 2004/0073060A1). The genetic basis of the anti-inflammatory effects of 5-Loxin® was explored in a system of TNFα-induced gene expression in human microvascular endothelial cells. 5-Loxin® significantly prevented the TNFα-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinases and adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1), and inducible expression of the mediators of apoptosis. With such interesting findings, we planned to determine the broad-spectrum safety of 5-Loxin®. Acute oral, acute dermal, primary skin and eye irritation, and dose-dependent 90-day subchronic toxicity studies were conducted. In safety studies, acute oral LD50 of 5-Loxin® was found to be greater than 5,000 mg/kg in both male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. No changes in body weight or adverse effects were observed following necropsy. Acute dermal LD50 of 5-Loxin® was found to be >2,000 mg/kg. Primary skin irritation test was conducted with 5-Loxin® on New Zealand Albino rabbits and 5-Loxin® was classified as nonirritating. Primary eye irritation test was conducted with 5-Loxin on rabbits and 5-Loxin® was classified as mildly irritating to the eye. A dose-dependent 90-day subchronic toxicity study demonstrated no significant changes in selected organ weights individually and as percentages of body and brain weights. 5-Loxin® supplementation did not cause changes in hepatic DNA fragmentation on 30, 60, or 90 days of treatment. Hematology, clinical chemistry, and histopathological evaluations did not show any adverse effects in all organs tested. Taken together, these results demonstrate the broad spectrum safety of 5-Loxin®.

Salai Guggal — Boswellia serrata: from a herbal medicine to a specific inhibitor of leukotriene biosynthesis

Salai Guggal — Boswellia serrata: from a herbal medicine to a specific inhibitor of leukotriene biosynthesis

Studies on the metabolism of glycosaminoglycans under the influence of new herbal anti-inflammatory agents

The in vivo effect of an herbal based, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory product, salai guggal, prepared from the gum resin exudate of Boswellia serrata and its active principle “boswellic acids” on glycosaminoglycan metabolism has been studied in male albino rats. The biosynthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycans, as evaluated by the uptake of [ 35S]sulfate, and the content of glycosaminoglycans were measured in specimens of skin, liver, kidney and spleen. Statistical analysis of the data obtained with respect to the boswellic acids and salai guggal were compared with those of ketoprofen. A significant reduction in glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis was observed in rats treated with all of the drugs. Glycosaminoglycan content was found to be decreased in the ketoprofen-treated group, whereas that of the boswellic acids or salai guggal treated groups remained unaltered. The catabolism of glycosaminoglycans was followed by estimating the activities of lysosomal glycohydrolases, namely β-glucuronidase, β- N-acetyglucosaminidase, cathepsin B 1, cathepsin B 2 and cathepsin D, in tissues and by estimating the urinary excretion and hexosamine and uronic acid. The degradation of glycosaminoglycans was found to be reduced markedly in all drug-treated animals as compared to controls. The potential significance of boswellic acids and salai guggal was discussed in the light of changes in the metabolism of glycosaminoglycans.

Effect of salai guggal ex-Boswellia serrata on cellular and humoral immune responses and leucocyte migration.

Effect of alcoholic extract of salai guggal (AESG) was studied on cellular and humoral immune responses in mice and leucocyte migration in rats. Oral administration of AESG strongly inhibited the antibody production and cellular responses to sheep red blood cells in mice. It inhibited the infiltration of polymorphonuclear leucocytes and reduced the volume of pleural exudate in carrageenan induced pleurisy in rats. It showed no cytotoxic effect.

Urinary excretion of connective tissue metabolites under the influence of a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent in adjuvant induced arthritis.

The therapeutic effect of boswellic acids and salai guggal in adjuvant induced arthritic rats in relation to urinary excretion of connective tissue metabolites viz. hydroxyproline, hexosamine and uronic acid was thoroughly investigated. Compared to controls, the arthritic animals showed an increase in the excretion of these metabolites in urine. The elevated levels of urinary hydroxyproline (free, total, nondialysable and dialysable), hexosamine and uronic acid in the arthritic animals were found to be slightly decreased in the acute phase and significantly decreased in the chronic phase of the disease following the administration of boswellic acids or salai guggal. The results of the investigation indicated that both these anti-inflammatory drugs could offer a partial protective action against changes induced by adjuvant induced arthritis.

Pharmacology of an extract of salai guggal ex-Boswellia serrata, a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent.

Pharmacological evaluation of alcoholic extract of salai guggal (AESG) has been carried out in experimental animals. AESG displayed marked anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced oedema in rats and mice and dextran oedema in rats. It was equally effective in adrenalectomised rats. In formaldehyde and adjuvant arthritis, AESG produced prominent anti-arthritic activity but no significant effect was observed in cotton pellet-induced granuloma test. It inhibited inflammation induced increase in serum transaminase levels and leucocyte counts but lacked any analgesic or anti-pyretic effects. The gestation period or parturition time in pregnant rats or onset time of castor oil-induced diarrhoea was unaffected by AESG and no significant effect was seen on cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous system functions. No ulcerogenic effects were found in the rat stomach. The oral and intraperitoneal LD50 was greater than 2 g/Kg in mice and rats.